


The Champion

by ThePsuedonym



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, May be depressing to some readers, POV Second Person, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Tragedy, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-06-01 03:56:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6499843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePsuedonym/pseuds/ThePsuedonym
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the beginning, there was Kalos.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>In the end, there was Kanto.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Champion

# The Champion

In the beginning, there was Kalos.

You opened your eyes and found yourself in a small village of nine, with wide, swathing streets, modest buildings and a distinctly modern feel. Soon you learn that you had moved there with your family only days beforehand before being promptly kidnapped by your neighbors to the only adjoining city, Aquacorde Town, where you receive your first Pokémon and begin the first leg of your journey.

The world, as you swiftly learn, is one that is bathed in color; any and every shade and hue that could be imagined you saw crawling upon the richly verdant earth, swimming beneath the region’s fantastically clear water or in the marvelous blue skies. Kalos was famed for its artists and for good reason; but its socialites were less often renowned, and for good reason. Many people, as you swiftly learned, had little personality and were little more than stacks of cardboard cutouts. In fact, any opposing Trainers that you stumbled across were like strategically placed potted plants, but with Pokémon beside them.

Training your own Pokémon was simplicity in itself. Soon after you began – shortly after earning your first Gym badge, in fact – you were rewarded with a life-changing device: a team-wide Experience Share. All six of your team of Pokémon could learn from a single battle despite five (or fewer) members not witnessing the destruction; even the shortest fights, those that culminated in the capture of the feral opponent, allowed knowledge to be earned. It felt as though you had a lifetime of experience guiding your hand as you decimated legions of opponents and gathered both the newest, the strongest and rarest creatures to fight for you.

At first, filling the Pokédex seemed a daunting challenge; Kalos itself organized its encyclopedia of wildlife into three categories, dependent on the geography the Pokémon could be found in, for a summing up to roughly three hundred unique species. But being located within the regional ‘dex, each Pokémon could be found roaming the countryside _somewhere_ , and those that you couldn’t find yourself you traded with others to gain their information. And, once the Kalos Pokédex was complete, you found another challenge: there were five other regions that had their own Pokémon as well, totaling up to some seven hundred creatures. But by then you had discovered many of Kalos’ secrets and the task was no longer the difficulty it was. Trainers showed off their rare Pokémon for public viewing in certain venues; you could offer up a random Pokémon and receive a new one in seconds, or search for a specific individual and battle other Trainers for the rights to own the desired creature.

Training and learning was not the entirety of your journey, but it was the foundation, despite your hazy and unknown goal. After receiving your original partner in Aquacorde the immediate plan was to become better, faster and stronger than your peers, but beyond that there was nothing to aim for – walk forward and see where the wind takes you. It took you all about Kalos, acquiring Mega Evolutions and Gym badges alike, led you to discover Team Flare’s paradoxical schemes and kick their collective tail, allowed you to meet and capture a few Legendary Pokémon and, to boot, become the Kalos Champion. The Elite Four was weak; their champion, your predecessor, the icing on the cake.

Throughout the journey and for some time after you completed other numerous, inconsequential jobs. Collected all the known types of berries and the available TM discs; trained stronger, more perfect Pokémon; became a trendsetter in Lumiose City and foiled a former Team Flare admin’s attempts to steal Trainers’ Pokémon at the same time; became a professional roller-skater with a larger pool of tricks than any other within Kalos, and an expert bicyclist.

Soon, too soon there was nothing left that Kalos could offer you. It had become a land of perfection, as you performed everything that could possibly be offered to you, overcame every challenge that was presented – but there was nothing left that could adequately capture your attention. You were the Champion of a colorful, mystical world, but your own prospects had become very dim and gray, lifeless and dull.

You closed your eyes and sighed.

* * *

Then, there was Unova.

You opened your eyes and found yourself in a small town of an expansive world, stretching itself in directions far beyond the scope of imagination; the region, itself composed of metropolitan blacks, greys and whites, seemed to stretch out far into the past and on into the future in its attempt to widen the horizons it no longer knew existed. The attempt seemed to come at the cost of definition, however, causing the edges to blur and allowing you to slip between the cracks and emerge in an unknown land.

The Pokémon the region offered to you were quite unlike those that came to mind – you recalled more species, more variety, something _newer_ , something _older_ – and were unusual, unique and frankly complex, ranging from garbage given life to sets of gears that would die if left unpaired to giant snowflakes that consumed flesh. Despite their strange traits, they offered greater challenge than did your recollections of another land that no longer seemed quite real; some Pokémon seemed stronger, others weaker, and the fighting style had changed entirely. If you didn’t know any better, you would have dared venture that some had even had their typing altered – but there was nothing _before_ that they could have been switched from, right?

Unova itself consisted of an island connected to its mainland by a series of bridges, anchors of concrete and steel to keep the land grounded in its attempt to bring everything together. The region, in fact, seemed composite in itself, a patchwork quilt of different terrains and a melting pot of people; no one style seemed to have any more influence than another within the city, save for Castelia City, which was dominated by its grand ports and even grander skyscrapers, and the desert occupying the middle of the region, which seemed to bear an ever-present air of mourning of things lost to time.

You found the Pokédex to be smaller than you recalled; the regional version consisted of one hundred and fifty Pokémon, or so, and not all species would show themselves to you but the problem was solved with the assistance of other Trainers who were searching for Pokémon hidden to them as well, and just as eager to complete their own ‘dex. A world-wide auction house was of help as well to complete the search, especially when your device was upgraded to include all five major regions of the world – though five seemed a small number, and six hundred and fifty Pokémon too few, though expansive in itself.

After leaving your home you found that you had virtually no long-term goals, beyond becoming the best Trainer you could be, which seemed to consist of defeating all eight of the region’s Gym Leaders and proving yourself worthy of the title of Champion of Unova; a task completed with some small degree of effort. Along the way you met and destroyed Team Plasma, which had aimed to control the world with the assistance of the region’s Legendary mirror dragons – one of which chose you and assisted you in defeating its twin, who had single-handedly trounced all five of the region’s strongest Trainers. Repeating the task was nothing, nor was hunting down the remnants of the team’s cowardly hierarchy, who had fled post-defeat by Legendary.

Exploring Unova took time, a relished scouring through the brush and caves that dotted the region’s landscape. Challenger’s Cave was the first to be taken down, and soon after you found the Illusion Fox Pokémon of Ilex Forest, a man-and-Pokémon-eating Kyurem threatening the inhabitants of a small town in the north and the trio of musketeers aiding the weak and arming the strong, plus their fourth member, among others. Any Legendary unfortunate enough to stumbled upon was bagged, in fact, as you slipped through the seams holding the region together and returned stronger than ever.

Yet as with all things, even those joys came to an end and Unova had exhausted its stores of new interests. Even the desert had become tedious and boring, its shifting sands revealing nothing of interest – there were no more secrets to be had. The region, though heavily populated, urbanized and spacious, had become tedious and unfulfilling. Once you found you could no longer take the empty silence you turned away from it all.

You closed your eyes and sighed.

* * *

Next, there was Sinnoh

You opened your eyes and found yourself trapped; the region was a single island, too remote from anywhere to allow for easy and inexpensive travel. The world seemed to have shrunk in size, threatening to squash you down into a speck of dust as the dimensions inspired a claustrophobic fear you never knew you had, cajoling you to move, to run, _escape_. Time itself seemed to work backwards and draw you back from the future as space closed in on you to keep you isolated and within its control.

Just as the world seemed yet again shrunk, the pool of Pokémon seemed different and smaller, yet they carried a nouvelle charm that you found you couldn’t quite explain. Ice typed Pokémon seemed particularly prolific here, what with the region being located far in the north, far more so than any other of the four main regions – but what did you know? You had never been outside of Sinnoh, after all – and the Pokédex seemed to suffer the same pruning as well, yet its completion was no simple task, what with fewer species willing to make themselves known before you and the difficulties that came with battling in general.

Fighting yielded little experience for levelling and growing, nor was there any device that would assist in teaching your entire team at once. The closest item to such a fabulous, mythical device was an Experience Share, but it only affected one Pokémon at a time, the holder. Your enemies were more clever and more intelligent than before, and winning was more of a primal struggle between the creatures than it was an easy, effortless fight. Despite the difficulties every success was earned through sweat, blood and tears and every bit as joyous as the last.

Danger clung to you through every step of your futile escape of fate: unintentionally, you found yourself in the center of a region-wide conspiracy to end the universe by controlling the three Prometheus’ of human nature, and by their slavery their masters, the lords of space and time, would arrive and be chained down as their thralls were. Then a new world would be created, one in which humanity and Pokémon alike would grovel at the feet of Cyrus, Team Galactic’s leader. Despite the near success you had clawed your way up Mount Coronet in time to earn the lords’ respect through victory in battle, simultaneously grinding Galactic’s plans to dust beneath your heel. With such power on your side, the Elite Four and Champion alike fall like dominoes even as you take the latter’s place.

Not long after you set out to complete your ‘dex; a second journey up the mountain with a flute shaped to resemble a heart rewarded you with the original maker, while trading with other Trainers provided the other half of space-time. Securing the third portion of the trio and the master of the Other World was a personal accomplishment, as was locating humanity’s agents after their release from Cyrus’ hands. Soon after you gained the moon, the personifications of fear and gratitude, even as you mastered Sinnoh’s underground tunnels and delved into both its marshes and northern islands.

Nothing was left to stand before you as Sinnoh gave up its final secrets – not willingly, not gratefully, but each one was wrested and coaxed from ice and steel. You stood as the master of everything that ever was, is and would be – and yet you found a feeling of lethargy creeping upon you, settling itself into your bones as a long and familiar lover would, however unwelcome. Even the appeal of ruling existence could not last forever, and you found yourself slipping, sliding away.

You closed your eyes and sighed.

* * *

Here, there was Hoenn.

You opened your eyes and, in a quaint little town you had never known before, you accepted your fate. Just as you could feel the world growing simpler, a far cry from the infinite possibilities and sharp relief it once held, you could feel _something_ creeping upon you, baring its fangs and claws as the perfect moment to strike approached. Acceptance, however, did not mean you had to like it, and without the boundless energy you felt you must have had once before, in a lifetime long, long ago, you trudged through the muddy-ashy-sandy region that you now called home, feeling the tightly wound spring that kept the world aligned slowly, irreversibly coming loose.

As reaching back any further than moving into Littleroot Town brought splitting migraines, you were left with no reference point for Pokémon of any region; but Professor Birch was kind enough to allow you to keep the Pokéball you selected from his bag despite your complete lack of knowledge and gave you an encyclopedia to do with as you saw fit. With no other courses available to you – none that were in plain sight, at least – you struck out into the world of Hoenn.

Training, in the simplest of words, was nearly impossible. Though you knew it wasn’t the case every battle seemed to yield less produce than the one that came before it. Trainers were nearly two-dimensional, ready to offer themselves for battling but unwilling to reciprocate in any valuable or well-meaning form of communication or assistance. Status conditions were abound, particularly in Petalburg Forest, where it seemed every wild Pokémon knew Stun Spore and Poison Powder, _at the least_ , and those that were a step above had Effect Spore or Sleep Powder to boot.

In said forest you kind-of-sort-of stumbled into the region’s most recent political maneuvering, in the form of Team Aqua and Team Magma. Their names said it all, truly, from their chosen type of Pokémon to their plans for Hoenn and beyond. And when their plans to revive the titans of the sea and land had nearly come to fruition, where else to turn but to the pacifying sky? Thus, with said atmospheric titan at your side, you placated both Legendaries – unable to return them to slumber, no, that would be too _easy_ – and came to claim both for yourself and claimed ownership over all three spheres of immediate existence: the earth, the oceans and the air itself. With such power on your side, all five of Hoenn’s top Trainers went down and named you the Champion.

Then you discovered that not only did Pokémon exist everywhere imaginable on the planet, but that they also came from outer space in the form of mutated viruses. In addition to that, some could make one’s dreams a reality, no matter how insane, and some of them were even color-coded! Blue for boys and red for girls, yes sir. None of that could quite stand on par with the sunken ship, however, and even that ranked under the region’s patented secret bases. Yes, the secret bases.

Existing in a temperate climate meant that Hoenn essentially only had one-and-a-half seasons: a short spring characterized by the flowering plants and leaves of fruit-bearing trees followed by perhaps ten months of summer that changed from mild to sweltering to bearable through the course of the months. Life went on even though it didn’t change, and the wariness that had been lurking grew larger, darker than it had ever been before. Apprehension judged your steps as a once shapeless, formless fear that darkened the horizon became more solid and defined. It was approaching and your routes of escape were dwindling, you realized.

You closed your eyes and sighed.

* * *

Now, there was Johto.

You opened your eyes and shut them once more. Already you could sense the slick, slimy, _disgusting_ feel of degradation sliding along your skin like a shedding snake in reverse. It seeped into your flesh and bones, _owning_ you. Your nerves prickled at the invisible caress as unpleasant thoughts invaded your head; you forced your thoughts instead to the sound of your mother’s voice and heeded her call.

After being given your very own Pokémon to make a not-very-quick journey delivering a Pokémon egg from Professor Elm’s lab in New Bark Town to its intended recipient about halfway through Route 30, you are awarded your very own Pokédex. You take a few moments to stare at it, scrolling through the blank entries. It seems tiny, miniscule to the vast knowledge it should contain, but Professor Elm is becoming nervous by your silence so you thank him and leave. The feeling of déjà vu persisted throughout your journey, bogging down each step until you moved at speeds appropriate for pushing through thick, syrupy honey.

Training felt much the same: slow and heavy, a flat and difficult struggle that would be pointless without the need to… come to think of it, what was your goal again? You couldn’t recall, but some instinct said to keep moving and so you did. Slogging through the region was no easy task, but it gave you both time and opportunity to appreciate the unexpectedly rich culture that Johto had cultivated.

Ecruteak City, for example, housed twin towers that, according to the town’s local myths, were once the not-so-literal resting places of Johto’s two Legendary birds; the eastern, awakening tower dedicated to the golden phoenix, while the western, resting tower was once home to the silver dragon. The latter fell to fire, causing the birds to depart the city while three anonymous Pokémon were consumed by the flames; the phoenix, before its final flight, returned the trio to life. Those humans that witnessed the blatant defiance of death felt terror and, knowing their own power, the Pokémon fled.

It was a short but sad story, for certain, but it was more obvious than whatever you goal was when you first set out on your journey, and far more so than the struggling criminal organization that had commandeered the Goldenrod Radio Tower to locate their missing leader – besides that brief appearance plus one other in Mahogany Town, their exact purpose was as clear as sludge. Fighting the grunts, if nothing else, gave you the opportunity to test your Pokémon against theirs.

Oh, and did you mention the time-travelling onion? No? Well, you captured a time-travelling onion. Congratulations.

Between all of that you faced all eight of Johto’s Gym Leaders, entered the Indigo Plateau and took down the joint Johto-Kanto Elite Four – your greatest test to date – as well as their Champion. Once you proved your mettle and defeated Kanto’s Gyms as well, you were given permission to face your final test and began scaling Mount Silver. Within the mountain was what locals claimed to be the greatest Trainer of them all. A lie, of course; you were the Champion of both Johto and Kanto, and as the mountain was in one (or both; territory was kinda tricky here) of those regions, you were automatically a better Trainer, yes? Unless the other Trainer managed to defeat you, but that was the entire purpose of this journey, now.

But you digress; here and now you stared down your opponent, Pokéball in hand and prepared to fight with everything you had. They stared back at you with an unmistakably melancholy air that, while you wouldn’t admit it, unnerved you slightly.

You closed your eyes and sighed.

* * *

In the end, there was Kanto.

You opened your eyes and found yourself ready. The feeling was a disturbing one; your purpose was clear and you were raring to go, but reigning you in was the feeling of apprehension. Something had arrived, you felt, something great and terrible and life-changing, but you chalked it up to your excitement at finally being allowed to travel beyond your home town of Pallet. Nothing, not even illness would set you back. So, instead, you set out.

The Pokédex was scant; there was no other way to describe it. It contained one-hundred and forty-nine Pokémon, which was all the species native to Kanto as you and anyone else very well knew, but seeing the empty pages made you feel desolate.

You attempted to erase the illogical emotions through training; it was energy well spent, if nothing else. The Pokémon that resided in Kanto were the roughest and toughest of all (of all?) and packed a harder punch (than what?), while donating little experience to your team. The Gyms were just as difficult; beginning with a Ground type Gym Leader was no easy task, not when any of the creatures native to the preceding routes were effective against the Onix and Geodude that populated the Viridian Gym.

Speaking of battling, you quickly learned that every battle was more or less a fight to remain alive. Wild Pokémon were vicious creatures, prepared to fight to the death and maul your own team even as they, or you, on occasion, fled. The Trainers you met were comparatively meek, cowed by defeat, reluctant to offer another battle and the opportunity to gain a little more money. You resigned yourself to the fact that you would have to rely on Centers for healing and save each and every Potion you could find.

Your journey was simply to collect Kanto’s eight badges, defeat the Elite Four and take the Champion’s title. Get in, get out and get it over with. No side stories, no sub plots and no extra tidbits to turn you off your path. None beside the occasional appearance of Team Rocket, that is, but they were really wells of free experience that could be exploited, which you gladly did. Legendary Pokémon were bonuses that could be captured and utilized against your opponents. Eventually, after scouring the entirety of the Kanto region and after several long, heated trading sessions, the Pokédex is completed – even the mythical Mew and the clone Mewtwo were not safe from your hand.

Calling upon your strongest Pokémon, you traverse the Indigo Plateau and challenge the Elite Four – who were, in your humble opinion, the greatest challenge you had the pleasure of conquering. Lance alone was ridiculous, what with his underleveled Dragonite and proliferation of Ice-type moves at his command, but he fell despite the struggle. Then you faced off against your former-friend-turned-rival, who had apparently made it his life’s mission to be better than you in every way possible, culminating in Lance’s defeat before your arrival to the Indigo Plateau. But no matter; he accedes the superiority of your Pokémon’s training and grudgingly names you Champion of the Kanto region.

And then nothing.

No relief comes to you. The fear becomes both stifling and physical, a noose wrapping itself about your neck and caging your limbs in a straightjacket. You force yourself to move once more, to find some measure of peace away from the mind-numbing panic; somehow you find yourself isolated, alone with your Pokémon to train – it is the only thing that keeps your mind off the dread.

One day – or night – someone approaches you, and you recognize them from a lifetime ago.

You close your eyes and sigh; you already know how this ends.


End file.
